Chapter 44

Leaving the Feicui轩, it was already late at night, and the streets were deserted.

On the way back, Wu Xiaoliu looked at Li Qi with admiration and said foolishly, "Brother Li, you really have the skills. In no time, you managed to get 1,500 strings of cash. My uncle can't compare to you at all."

Li Qi glared at him with a bad temper and said, "Don't flatter me here. I'll tell you, your uncle is probably cursing me in his heart. When we get back to the shop, he's bound to scold me."

Wu Xiaoliu, hearing this, was puzzled and said, "Brother Li, why is that? You made so much money, how could my uncle still blame you? Besides, he wouldn't dare to scold you now."

That was true; after all, Li Qi was now a half-owner of Zui Xian Ju.

Li Qi smiled and suddenly asked, "Liu, what do you think of this deal, Brother Li?"

"I don't know," Wu Xiaoliu first shook his head, then laughed and said, "But I know you wouldn't do a losing business. You must have your reasons."

Hei! I didn't expect this kid to understand me so well!

It felt good to hear that.

Li Qi smiled slightly and said, "Brother Li will tell you, in this deal, both we and Feicui轩 are winners."

Wu Xiaoliu was puzzled and said, "Both winners? Brother Li, I don't understand."

"Brother Li asks you, do you know what we lack the most at Zui Xian Ju now?"

Wu Xiaoliu thought for a moment and said, "Money!"

Li Qi nodded and said, "That's right. What we lack is capital. Without capital, we can only set up a stall on the street, and it's hard to achieve anything. But once we have enough capital, we can make a big move in Tokyo. So, this 1,500 strings of cash is very important to us. But for Cai Yuwai, this amount is just a drop in the ocean. Although I haven't interacted with him much, he's not an ordinary person. If this stinky tofu can't bring him several times, even dozens of times the profit, he wouldn't buy it. So, in this deal, both sides are winners. As for the future, well, we'll see."

Wu Xiaoliu listened and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Brother Li, I understand. Your point is that in business, we should always put our own interests first. Whether it's a friend or an enemy, as long as it benefits us, we do business with them."

Li Qi was slightly taken aback and praised, "Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect you to be so smart and have a talent for business."

"Hehe, I just guessed," Wu Xiaoliu said.

On the way, Li Qi also shared some business insights with Wu Xiaoliu. Wu Xiaoliu was quick to react and soon grasped some of the key points.

Back at Zui Xian Ju, Li Qi saw that Wu Furong's room was still lit. He sighed, told Wu Xiaoliu to put the things back in the kitchen, and instructed him to rest early. Then he headed toward Wu Furong's room.

Li Qi knew that if he didn't explain to Wu Furong tonight, the old man wouldn't be able to sleep.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Wu Uncle, are you asleep?" Li Qi gently knocked on the door and called out.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened with a creak.

Wu Furong hurriedly invited Li Qi into the room. Before Li Qi could sit down, he eagerly asked, "Young Master Li, what—what's going on?"

Li Qi didn't hide it anymore and told him about selling the stinky tofu recipe to Feicui轩.

Although Wu Furong had already suspected this when Cai Lao San delivered the money, he was still stunned when Li Qi said it. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and shouted, "Young Master Li, you—you're being foolish!"

Li Qi smiled slightly and asked, "Wu Uncle, what do you mean?"

"Young Master Li, you know very well that our Zui Xian Ju is counting on this stinky tofu to turn things around. And this recipe is the lifeblood of a restaurant. How could you sell it so easily?"

Wu Furong shook his head and sighed, "I know you did this to raise the 1,000 strings of cash, but you were too hasty. I had already thought about it. I have some savings, and if we pool our money, we can make a show in front of the lady and get the job done. Now, when the other side also makes this stinky tofu, what will we use to compete with them?"

Seeing Wu Furong's regretful look, Li Qi couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, "Wu Uncle, do you know why I chose to make this stinky tofu?"

Wu Furong was taken aback and shook his head.

Li Qi said seriously, "First, the taste of this stinky tofu is unique, with a strong aroma that can attract the most customers in the shortest time. Considering our reputation at Zui Xian Ju, we can only rely on the food itself to attract customers. Second, in Tokyo, no one else can make it except me. And the most important point is that from the beginning, I planned to sell the recipe to Feicui轩."

"What?"

Wu Furong was shocked and asked, "You—you planned to sell the stinky tofu recipe to Feicui轩 from the beginning?"

"Exactly!"

Li Qi smiled slightly and asked, "Do you remember why I only sold 100 to 200 portions of stinky tofu each day at the beginning?"

Wu Furong nodded and said, "Of course I remember. You said it was to maintain the popularity for a longer time."

"Then do you know why I wanted the popularity to last longer?" Li Qi asked again.

Why would anyone not want their business to be prosperous?

Wu Furong was puzzled and shook his head. He knew that if Li Qi asked, there must be a deeper reason.

Li Qi smiled and said, "The reason I did this was to lure the old fox Cai Yuwai."

"Ah? Lure the old fox?"

Wu Furong looked at Li Qi with confusion.

"Think about it. Given Cai Yuwai's character, could he not be tempted by our booming business every day? So, he would do everything to get the stinky tofu recipe. Not only that, when I negotiated with him today, I told him that we were forced to do this because of lack of capital. When he heard that we were so poor that we couldn't even afford a piece of tofu, how could he still look down on us? This will greatly benefit our future development."

Li Qi didn't wait for Wu Furong to speak and suddenly asked, "Uncle, do you know why I only fried tofu for one day and then let Xiaoliu take over?"

Wu Furong was surprised and said, "Didn't you say you had important things to do?"

"Uh... there was a little thing."

Li Qi laughed and continued, "But the main reason was to let the old fox know that the stinky tofu came from my hands. Given his understanding of you, he would only need to ask around to guess that the stinky tofu must have come from me. Then he would definitely try to find me, and I would deliberately avoid him, making him anxious. When he was extremely anxious, I would negotiate with him. In the negotiation, I would use some small tricks to make him reveal his bottom line. My ultimate goal in all this was to make Cai Yuwai come to me with money to buy the stinky tofu recipe."

Wu Furong, hearing this, finally understood and praised, "What a good plan! If you hadn't told me today, I would never have thought of this. But I still have one question."

"Oh?"

"This stinky tofu is so profitable. Why didn't you wait? I believe in a few months, we could earn 1,500 strings of cash. Why give the old fox a bargain?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "Uncle, you're thinking too simply. The reason we can make such a high profit in such a short time is because the profit margin of the stinky tofu is extremely high. 300 coins can buy a pound of pork from the butcher. Besides, stinky tofu can't fill you up and isn't good for your health. The current popularity is just a novelty. After customers try it a few times, they won't waste their money. Of course, some people might really like it, but at such a high price, they won't come every day. If we want to earn 1,500 strings of cash with stinky tofu, it would take a very long time. So, we can't rely on stinky tofu as a long-term plan."

Wu Furong nodded and said, "You're right. The business in the past few days has indeed been much worse than at the beginning."

Li Qi said seriously, "We need to earn enough capital as soon as possible and rise quickly. Otherwise, with the current expansion speed of Feicui轩, it won't be long before the southern part of the city is all his. By then, it will be almost impossible for us to turn things around."

Actually, Li Qi had another concern, the upcoming "Jingkang Incident," but he couldn't tell Wu Furong about it.

"Brother Li, I'm truly impressed. I didn't expect you to think so far ahead. It's rare, rare!" Wu Furong shook his head in admiration.

Hei! I haven't even started yet. Wait and see, I'll surprise you all!

Li Qi smiled inwardly but kept a modest expression on his face.

Wu Furong asked, "Since we've earned the capital, what should we do next?"

Li Qi snapped his fingers and said, "Rest!"

"Rest?"

"Yes, if we start a big project as soon as we get the money, the old fox will definitely suspect that we planned it all along. Then he will retaliate with all his might. With our current strength, we can't compete with him. Besides, we can use this time to reorganize. As for what to do next, I haven't figured it out yet."

As Li Qi spoke, a sly smile appeared on his lips.

Wu Furong saw this and knew that he must have already planned everything, but didn't want to say. Wu Furong was used to this and didn't ask further, but he looked forward to it in his heart.